


not a spine so softly cracked

by lavendre



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Community: femslashficlets, Developing Relationship, F/F, Friendship, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-05-04 12:03:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14592642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavendre/pseuds/lavendre
Summary: Sasada hesitated for the first time since they’d walked home together. She should have hesitated earlier.





	not a spine so softly cracked

**Author's Note:**

> For Femslashficlets language of flowers challenge on Dreamwidth, prompt #15 narcissus.

Taki imagined Sasada’s confrontational nature is what lead to this. Perhaps part of it was her steamroller personality and that Taki was collectively too nice. She heard it frequently enough. Her year of silence had her classmates regarding her as some kind of monkey when she suddenly started addressing everyone by name again.  _Tooru’s actually really friendly, isn’t she? I thought she was distant. Maybe she’s just shy._  
  
What it lead to: a forced study session in late autumn in her grandfather’s storage room, foraging through paperwork and books and amulets and all matter of knickknacks. It was for an essay -- for class. The gesture had been out of her mouth before she could consider the consequences fully.  _What would Natsume think of me bringing her here?_  She didn’t get to wonder. Sasada halted several meters into the room and spun slowly, a low whistle filling the space, sharp and crisp. It wasn't entirely out of place.  
  
Taki watched the dust motes and said hastily, “I’m sorry it’s so cluttered in here.” She trailed a finger across an open box and it came back fuzzy, brown.  
  
Sasada simply gave her a look from behind her glasses. Taki didn’t know her too well yet, but it was the same kind of look she’d seen Tanuma turn on Natsume.  _Suspicious_ , it said.  _You’re not sorry at all._  She cleared her throat and marched further in. “What are all these books for? Was your grandfather a historian?”  
  
“Of sorts. He was a big reader all his life.”  
  
She sat on a crate and watched her careful journey along a single bookshelf, hands reaching out, tracing the titles, but not pulling anything out of place. The light slanted in behind the open door with a flat harshness and carved Sasada into a glow along the wall. No one thirsted for knowledge as much as herself, Taki thought. But maybe she had been wrong. The thought was startling.  
  
“Those books are all on various folklore for this area specifically. The books below that are a more general collection of stories. It’s alright to look at them. I’ve been indexing them slowly, so I know where to return them.”  
  
But Sasada hesitated for the first time since they’d walked home together. She should have hesitated earlier. “Wait, are you  _sure?_  These are personal, right?”  
  
Taki thought it strange how easily she determined it. But as quick as her confusion came, it ended again. Sasada held up her hands and sighed, curiosity caught, bagged. “Sorry. I know I’m being nosy. I didn’t mean to get this distracted. Let’s just grab the one you were talking about earlier.”   
  
_You are, but I don’t mind it._ Taki hopped down form her perch and kept silent. Somehow, that was fine.


End file.
